Gasoline biodegradation in different soil microcosms

The objective of this study was to evaluate gasoline biodegradation in batc h soil microcosms. Microorganisms able to grow in the presence of gasoline were isolated from soil. Several treatment systems were performed using bot h isolated strains and Pseudomonas putida obtained from a culture collectio n. The treatment system using only autochthonous microflora (system 1) pres ented an average value of degradation of 50%. The association of Pseudomona s putida, Burkholderia cepacia, Pseudomonas alcaligenes and the native soil microflora (system 13) presented significant percentage of removal of n-un decane (88.7), n-dodecane (61.3) and n-tridecane (66.7). According to these results, systems 1 and 13 revealed considerable potential for application in bioremediation treatments.